TORONTO – As the 2015 Toronto Pan Am Games moves into its final week, CBC-TV is boosting its daily coverage starting Monday, the second time it has pushed aside regular programming to show live and extended packages of the sporting event.
The broadcaster confirmed that an extra hour will be added during the weekdays, on top of the already expanded network coverage announced last week just after the games began. That boosts weekday coverage to seven hours a day, up from the scheduled five hours, plus the added weekend coverage.
The public broadcaster appeared to have been caught off-guard by the…
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OTTAWA – French-language newspaper La Presse will team up with the Broadcast Consortium to produce and distribute the French-language 2015 Leaders' Debate.
As a partner to Consortium members CBC News, CTV News, Global News, Radio-Canada, and Télé-Québec, La Presse will help determine the format, provide a representative to co-moderate, and distribute the French-language debate digitally to its readership.
"With La Presse+, La Presse is the first tablet-based news organization to join the leaders' debate broadcast consortium," said La Presse's Éric Trottier, VP of news and editor in chief, in the news release. "It's a major first for us, but it also reflects a larger shift in the…
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OTTAWA – There is broad consensus among the smaller Internet providers, consumers groups and local governments that high speed Internet is a critical part of Canadian society and the economy. They are now telling the CRTC that it should take the steps necessary to include broadband as part of the basic service objective and find ways to ensure its rollout is funded by the industry and government.
As the Canadian Network Operators Consortium (CNOC) noted in its July 14 submission to the CRTC’s review of basic telecommunications services, broadband has a “prominent influence” on Canada’s economic, social and cultural identity.
“Broadband…
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OTTAWA – Industry Canada is tripling down on the number of licences up for grabs in its auction of unassigned licences from the previous 700 MHz and AWS-3 spectrum sales. The department has decided to license the bandwidth on a Tier 4 basis as well as separate the 15+15 MHz GHI AWS-3 block into three individual 5+5 MHz licences.
This means there will be three licences available in the 700 MHz band, one for each of Nunavut, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. In the AWS-3 spectrum there are now 15 licences to buy with three in each…
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TORONTO – SiriusXM Canada said Monday that Edmonton-based AutoCanada has joined its pre-owned vehicle program.
The program helps participating dealerships better market their inventory by offering a complimentary three-month SiriusXM subscription with any purchase of a pre-owned vehicle equipped with a satellite radio. AutoCanada currently operates 49 franchised dealerships in eight provinces.
"Having AutoCanada join our pre-owned vehicle program is further validation that SiriusXM Canada provides great value to dealers and car buyers across the country," said president and CEO Mark Redmond, in the news release. “With its continued approach to dealership growth, a high volume of domestic vehicle and…
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OTTAWA – A sharp increase in telecommunications prices over the past year combined with slower economic growth are affecting Canadian consumers' ability to afford their current telecom services, according to The Conference Board of Canada.
In the latest Outlook for Canada's Telecommunications Industry report, telecommunications industry revenues are forecast to increase by only 2.3% this year, the smallest increase since the 2009 recession, while the industry's GDP is expected to expand by less than 1%.
The telecommunications price index rose by almost 5% in 2014, most likely driven by wireless price increases associated with the adoption of…
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TORONTO – Former Corus Entertainment exec Jocelyn Hamilton has been named as president, Canada at eOne Television.
Effective September 8, 2015, Hamilton (pictured) will lead strategic planning and day-to-day management of the independent studio’s television development and production activities in Canada. Working in tandem with eOne Television leadership globally, she is charged with ensuring that eOne continues to deliver world-class scripted and unscripted programming from Canada for distribution across the globe, while building and broadening strong relationships with creative talent as well as Canadian broadcasters.
Hamilton was most recently vice-president of programming and original productions for Corus Kids, but has also overseen…
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GATINEAU – Canada’s Privacy Commissioner is praising new transparency reporting guidelines that should help Canadians understand how often, and in what circumstances, businesses provide their personal customer information to law enforcement and security agencies.
The new federal transparency reporting guidelines, released Tuesday by Industry Canada, were developed in consultation with the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (OPC), government departments and industry stakeholders. They are designed to provide direction to companies on making public information related to requests from government agencies to access customer information.
“The new transparency guidelines will help to close existing gaps in transparency reporting," said Commissioner…
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TORONTO – Hollywood Suite chairman and co-founder Jay Switzer recalls in mid-April first taking notice of an important industry signpost: Canadian television's small club of network heads are now all women.
"Satisfying that almost nobody has noted Canada's big 3 MediaCo’s & CBC now run by smart leaders who happen to be women. #took50 years," Switzer tweeted at the time.
Bell Media president Mary Ann Turcke (lower left, in our photograph) in April joined (clockwise) Rogers Media vice-president of TV and broadcast operations Colette Watson, CBC executive vice-president of English Services Heather Conway, Shaw Media president Barb Williams, and Groupe TVA…
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WINNIPEG – Kelvin Shepherd is stepping down from his role as president of MTS in October while chief financial officer Wayne Demkey will be leaving the company on July 31, MTS Allstream announced late Monday.
CEO Jay Forbes will take on the responsibilities of president of MTS, the announcement continued, and Paul Cadieux will assume the CFO role after the completion of the second quarter reporting cycle on July 30, 2015.
The moves come after the company’s strategic review earlier this year that saw 25% of Allstream’s workforce cut and a public commitment to a stronger customer-first focus, growing core revenues…
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